Morning Digest: India ‘deeply concerned’ by blockades in Red Sea, Persian Gulf; VB-G RAM G scheme trails MGNREGS by 9% in August and more

India is “deeply concerned” by the blockades in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday (September 15, 2026), even as the Houthis ramped up attacks on Saudi cities and a ship, carrying 14 Indian seafarers, was targeted on Sunday (September 13, 2026) off the Oman coast.

In its second month of operation, the government’s new rural employment scheme, Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-GRAM G), registered a modest improvement in employment generation. However, a year-on-year comparison with MGNREGA for August shows a 9% decline in the availability of work for the rural poor .